The Yukon Lottery Commission has funded its first Large Project under its Projects Fund.

During the spring intake, Friends of Mount Sima Society was awarded $520,240 for a new groomer to enable the society to enhance its programming.

“We sincerely appreciate the support of Lotteries Yukon and look forward to using the new groomer next season to benefit Yukoners, Snowboard Yukon, Yukon Freestyle Ski Association and Yukon Alpine Ski Association,” Friends of Mount Sima President Scott Casselman said in a press release Thursday.

The groomer will provide better snow and ski conditions for recreational and amateur sport use. 

This funding is made possible from the profits from the sale of lottery tickets. The commission invests an average of $2 million a year in community-based initiatives related to arts, sport and recreation, and plans to invest more with this new program. 

Mt. Sima is an important sport and recreation asset to Yukon,” said Frank Curlew, chair and CEO of the Yukon Lottery Commission. “The Yukon Lottery Commission is pleased to make the investment in this new groomer that will help the Friends of Mount Sima sustain and enhance its winter programming for Yukoners to enjoy,” he said.

Facts about Mount Sima:

• Mount Sima is the venue for several major sporting events including the Arctic Winter Games which is taking place in Whitehorse in March 2020;

• Mount Sima also supports three Yukon Sport Governing Bodies whose athletes train, compete and host events at the hill;

• Yukon Lottery Commission’s Project Fund program is designed to help Yukon non-profit organizations increase Yukoners’ participation in arts, sport and recreation;

• in 2018, the funding program was redesigned to provide more options to fund arts, sport and recreation projects as well as larger projects such as the Mount Sima groomer; 

• the Yukon Lottery Commission approved 10 other projects during the spring intake. These projects are posted on the Lotteries Yukon website;

• the next Project Fund intake is October 15, 2019 – with $647,578 available for large projects and $345,825 for small to medium projects;

• the Yukon Lottery Commission has been helping non-profits increase Yukoners access to and participation in arts, sport and recreation for over 45 years; and

• the commission is responsible for the oversight of inter-jurisdictional lotteries in Yukon and reinvesting profits for the sale of lottery tickets into arts, sport and recreation in Yukon.